32581929
submission
thecarchik writes:
Since last year, you've likely heard a lot about electric cars. You'll hear much more in the years to come. A few of the battery-electric cars you've heard about are "real"--meaning their makers want to sell as many as they can.
But quite a few of them aren't. They're not meant to lure in consumers, or sell in any kind of volume.
They're only built to meet California regulations for zero-emission vehicles --which is why they're called "compliance cars."
Starting this year, California requires that carmakers of a certain size ensure that at least a small portion of their volume comes from zero-emission vehicles --either battery electric cars or fuel-cell electric vehicles. Carmakers can meet the overall requirement using a combination of car types, including larger numbers of plug-in hybrids with partial electric range. The first round of requirements applies only to the carmakers with the highest California sales.
31871307
submission
thecarchik writes:
Many are keen on the concept of open source electric cars --that is, electric cars where the built-in software can be tweaked, parameters can be changed, and in theory, the cars can be improved. Only it's a really, really bad idea.
If a car has been designed to do its job, but an open source system lets people tweak it, what happens when the car shuts down in the middle of the highway and causes a pile-up? Or decides one day that it won't open any of the doors for you?
Even carmakers themselves have trouble with software--Fisker has issued a recall and apology recently with its Karma --so allowing average Joe to tweak the car's inner workings seems like a bad idea. Changing the characteristics of an electric car isn't as simple as re-jetting the carbs or swopping out the air filter..
31074729
submission
thecarchik writes:
Steve Mahan got into a Toyota Prius hybrid, drove to the dry cleaner's, picked up some clothes he'd left to be cleaned, and drove home. The trip was about a mile and a half. Steve Mahan is legally blind. He's lost 95 percent of his vision. He did it, though, with a little help from Google.
The car he happened to be driving was one of several Google Self-Driving Priuses, outfitting with an array of cameras, sensors, and processing algorithms to ensure it can sense, interpret, and react to its environment in real time--driving as safely as any other driver. Google’s bills him as “Self-Driving Car User #0000000001,” so the distinction of being the first official non-driver driver of a Google self-driving car who doesn’t work for Google falls to him.
30988235
submission
thecarchik writes:
The SCI hyMod five-door minicar concept is the brainchild of a Romanian team made up of an engineer, a designer, an automotive journalist.
It uses what its designers call a "dedicated logistics center" for the transformation from electric to gasoline, in which the back end of the car containing a battery pack is removed, and replaced with one containing a gasoline engine module that drives the rear wheels. In normal urban use, the battery pack powers an electric motor that drives the front wheels.
The hyMod combines elements of range-extended electric cars like the Fisker Karma and the Volt, plus a tiny, compact range extender (similar to the one proposed by KSPG in a Fiat 500 electric conversion), and perhaps even the Better Place automated battery-pack swap station.
We think it points to the burgeoning choices available in vehicle propulsion that will become available over the next decade.
30521697
submission
thecarchik writes:
Carbon footprints are a big talking point at the moment — they're your personal contribution to greenhouse gases, usually in terms of carbon dioxide, or CO2 emissions.
he theory is due to the hormones in the brain responsible for "wakefulness", or the amount of time we spend awake. CO2 levels can affect these hormones, leading us to go to bed later, which affects our metabolism making it easier for us to gain weight.
Carbon doesn't just affect the atmosphere, it also makes us eat. Breathing in increased CO2 makes our blood more acidic, affecting our brain patterns, making us want to eat more.
If that still sounds perculiar, consider that a study conducted in 2010 has also seen the same effects in different species of animal — so it's not just the proliferation of fast food restaurants leading to humans piling on the pounds.
30219191
submission
thecarchik writes:
As of now, the only state where self-driving cars are legal on public roads is Nevada, thanks to its vast expanses of open space and lightly traveled byways. California, recognizing that autonomous cars are an inevitable progression of technology, is moving to establish its own rules for driverless vehicles.
A bill proposed by California Senator Alex Padilla would set guidelines for the testing and operation of self-driving vehicles within the state. As California is home to Google, Stanford and Caltech, all of which have active autonomous vehicle programs, the state is positioned to be a leader in driverless car development. It stands to reason that self-driving cars will be allowed on California's roads, probably in the near future.
29910237
submission
thecarchik writes:
After a flurry of press events last October that included rides in 2012 Tesla Model S prototypes, Tesla Motors went mostly silent until it unveiled its Model X crossover last month.
But the electric crossover won't generate any cash for the Silicon Valley startup carmaker over the next year or two. That role belongs to the Model S sedan.
Tesla is working intensively on getting its all-electric luxury sport sedan finalized and ready for production, it says, with deliveries to paying customers sometime during the second half of this year.
We turned to respected industry analyst Aaron Bragman, of IHS Automotive, for an evaluation of the company's current and long-term prospects.
29650503
submission
thecarchik writes:
Sixteen months ago, General Electric announced it would place the "largest order in history" for electric cars , to be used by its employees who are issued company cars. Now, those cars are starting to arrive and be placed with employees.
And where changes are made, personnel policies are sure to follow. A person inside GE recently forwarded a memo to us that covers some of the nuts and bolts of using the 2012 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car . It's from the fleet operations manager for GE Healthcare.
Among the interesting points:
"All sedans ordered in 2012 will be the Chevrolet Volt"
Crossovers and minivans will be replaced by electric-vehicle sedans, i.e. the Volt
29606939
submission
thecarchik writes:
The Tesla battery 'bricking' post that was today's electric-car news story and generated reams of coverage may simply be an attempt by an unhappy owner to get Tesla Motors to replace the battery in his Roadster.
At least, that would appear to be the logical conclusion from a letter we just received from a source. It was sent by Roadster owner Max Drucker, of Santa Barbara, California, to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, dated February 12.
Several points in the note and parts of the language echo parts of the sensational blog post by author Michael Dagusta that kicked off the scare. Drucker, the letter writer, admits in the letter that he left his Roadster unplugged for more than two months--saying that he was in temporary housing and "didn't have a convenient place" to plug in the car.
29116935
submission
thecarchik writes:
The new, all-electric Tesla Model X crossover, which was introduced on stage by Tesla CEO Elon Musk (also the man behind SpaceX), isn’t exactly a step toward the mass market. But it does take on premium utility vehicles with three rows of seating for up to seven, better maneuverability than a Mini Cooper, and a 0-60 mph time of just 4.4 seconds—that’s faster than a Porsche 911, Musk jeered.
But the real oohs and ahs of the evening came when Musk showed the Model X’s much-anticipated ‘falcon doors’—essentially gullwing rear doors, behind normal hinged front doors.
Expected to cost around $60,000-$90,000 before tax credits, much like the Model S, the Model X offers similar performance, too. Musk says the standard version of the Model X crossover gets to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
29033559
submission
thecarchik writes:
In four years’ time, every automaker in the U.S. will have to ensure that their fleet-wide fuel economy is 36 mpg or better under tough new 2016 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
But according to a University of Michigan study, the average fuel economy of new cars and light-duty trucks sold in the U.S. has only risen by 3 MPG in the past four years to an average economy of 21.5 mpg
It’s good to see gas mileage rising fleet-wide, but with only a 3 mpg improvement over the past 4 years, automakers have a long way to go in order to hit the 2016 CAFE and 2025 CAFE requirements.
In fact, in order to reach the 2016 CAFE standard of 36 mpg, automakers will have to more than quadruple the past 4 years’ gas mileage gains in the coming 4 years.
28455287
submission
thecarchik writes:
It's a common question: Which is greener, continuing to drive my old car or buying a new, more fuel-efficient one? As with many such questions, the answer is: It depends.
It's true that the energy used for materials and manufacturing for a car has a noticeable carbon footprint. Assume that manufacturing the Prius is the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gasoline.
So if you were able to use a used car for just as many miles as you'd be able to use that new Prius, then theoretically the Prius wouldn't need to be built. That would cut carbon emissions.
But by how much? Let's look at the math. Over a 10-year life at 15,000 miles per year, a brand-new, 50-mpg 2012 Toyota Prius will use 3,000 gallons of gasoline.
If your hypothetical used car gets 33 mpg (to make the math easy) and lasts long enough after you buy it to cover that same 150,000 miles, you'll use half again as much gasoline, or 4,500 gallons.
That means that the Prius still saves 500 gallons of gasoline over its lifetime (if you accept the 1,000-gallon manufacturing equivalent).
There are two flaws in that argument, though. First, you probably won't be able to use that used car as long as you will a brand-new hybrid.
28086348
submission
thecarchik writes:
Porsche confirmed the 918 Spyder for production almost six months ago, but that was the last news we received about the halo hybrid supercar. But now a few new details have emerged on what we can expect when the production version arrives in a few years time.
Probably the biggest changes have been made to its internal combustion motivation which is still a V-8 but has increased in size from 3.4-liters to 4.6. The new motor will produce 550 horsepower, which is 50 up on what was quoted for the concept. The 918 will lose one of the concept's three electric motors, the two remaining will be good for a combined 230 horsepower, which adds up to a combined output of 730 horsepower.
27901570
submission
thecarchik writes:
Engine coolant isn't something you often think about when considering the running costs of your car. Beyond regularly filling up the gas tank and changing the oil every so often, that other liquid doesn't really get a look in. If we told you that a special waterless coolant would improve your fuel efficiency ten percent, extend your engine's life and never need changing, you might take a little more notice.
Waterless coolant doesn't corrode parts — as it doesn't contain water. It also boils at a much higher temperature, so your cooling system doesn't need to be pressurized, reducing risk of boiling over. A beneficial side-effect of this is that with your engine able to safely handle higher temperatures — while still being effectively cooled — your cooling fan doesn't need to start as often.
27308148
submission
thecarchik writes:
At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, OnStar will reveal the latest on their system. This time, the system will be equipped in a Chevy Volt research vehicle, which seems to be a more appropriate vessel than a Buick for previewing your latest technology. In a press release teasing the appearance, OnStar said the system will offer such features as cloud-based streaming of information and entertainment, rear-seat infotainment management and video chat.
Video chat may sound like a terrifying feature for any car, but OnStar said in last year's CES press materials that the feature would only be enabled when the car is in park. Other features like video streaming would also be limited to the rear seat or to a parked vehicle. In addition to the 4G system, OnStar will show the latest in smart-charging technology. It will also make an announcement about its over-the-counter FMV system.
